Sharp rise in Mumbai self-service demand

Web, kiosk and mobile check-in have been catalysts of a sharp rise in self-service check-in at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai over the last 12 months.

According to the 2011 SITA Passenger Self-Service Survey, self-service check-in at the airport has increased from 36% in 2010 to 65% in 2011. The report also found that the web check-in rate was higher in Mumbai than at any other airport included in the survey.

Meenakshi Agrawal, Vice President – IT, Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd, said: “This year’s survey shows that passengers really appreciate the degree of self-service which the airport and the airlines have made available to them over the last year. Our strategy around passenger facilitation has been validated and we have gained a very useful insight into how this might evolve in the future.”

Vikram Sethi, Vice President and Head of Terminal Operations, Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd, added: “The key aspect was understanding passenger perceptions and placing self check-in kiosks at locations where passengers found it convenient to access them. The next step was to provide bag drops adjacent to self check-in kiosks and we then saw a significant increase in usage.

“There will be a further increase in offsite check-in/self check-in as the government requirement for airlines to stamp boarding cards generated from kiosks is being discontinued and airlines will have to conduct identity checks at the boarding gate. MIAL has a target of increasing Common Use Self Service (CUSS) usage to 30% this year, from the 20% of passengers who use self check-in facilities at the moment.”